Diablo 4 has received a new endgame with Lord of Hatred. Through war plans, players can choose where and how much they want to grind – and even customize how the activities play out. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus initially found the implementation lame. Now he can’t get enough of it.
Right now, I am playing more Diablo than I have in many months. In fact, I’m going even further: I’ve never played Diablo 4 as intensely as I am now. Challenges like the Pinnacle bosses have never been my ambition. Now I’m exploring absolutely everything.
This is not only due to the new content from Lord of Hatred, but also when I’m having a lot of fun with the Warlock. My main drive is the new endgame and the spiral of improving, finding loot, and facing bigger challenges – exactly what makes games like Diablo what they are.
However, I initially had concerns because: even in the preview test, I found the war plans rather… dull. Now I know that I completely underestimated the entire feature.
The further I progress, the more fun it becomes
For everyone who hasn’t played Lord of Hatred yet: War plans are the new endgame feature, where you assemble a sequence of various activities, collect progress, and unlock special “perks” for the respective content. In Hordes, additional bosses can appear, in the Undercity, goblins, in Nightmare dungeons horadric altars, etc.
The idea was cool on paper: choosing which content to do and being rewarded for it. In practice, however, it turned out that I could only choose partially where I grind.
After reaching level 70, I first used the war plans only as a compass – and of course for more loot for free, since I was already grinding anyway. But once I got more into it, I didn’t want to stop anymore.
With the first skill points in the war plans’ talent trees, I unlocked that demon rats attack me in Hellflames. They drop more embers, thus faster more loot, so I definitely want to try that.
Just one war plan before bed…
From: “I’ll quickly try this new perk,” it quickly became: “Oh, the next one looks exciting too, I’ll grind for that.” Being overwhelmed with loot, of course, adds to the dopamine, after all, the next drop could contain the God-roll for my build.
The war plans keep me actively in the game, not through annoying grinding but through goals. I do more because I want to progress, because I want to see what else is possible. It takes a long time to level everything up, but the entire journey is paved with rewards:
- In the pit, I anyway have to level my glyphs and get stronger.
- Bosses in Hordes give me certain items that I need for my build.
- In Nightmare dungeons or the Undercity, I get gold and materials that I need in large quantities for the new crafting.
The feeling of “just one more war plan” before stopping (really! Just one more!) resonates in the community as well (on Reddit). Blizzard has found the exact sweet spot between reward and grind.
It has become easier to improve without being trivial. I initially shook my head when the developers celebrated the war plans as their major innovation. Now I understand them – and even see more advantages.
War plans teach returning players what Diablo has to offer
As someone who hasn’t actively played for months, many contents passed me by. The Undercity of Kurast, Hell hordes, Hordes… I know all the features just because I work on them. But I haven’t really followed or farmed them.
The war plans initially forced me to look at everything once again and also gave me the opportunity to adjust my experience personally. Especially the Undercity, which I had actively avoided for a long time, has now become one of my favorite activities.
Anyone starting (or returning to) Diablo 4 with Lord of Hatred gets a guiding thread that leads them through the endgame and shows what the game has to offer now.
Everything is worth it – except for one content that is incredibly annoying
Through the entire interplay of contents and especially the ability to forge powerful items using the Horadric Cube, no content feels like a waste of time. Everything brings me closer to my goal.
Only one thing stands out: Hell hordes. Maybe it’s nitpicking at a high level, maybe I just don’t see the advantage, but for these runs lasting forever, there is far too much randomness involved. Compared to all other endgame content, the hordes simply aren’t worth it. Even “bursting large amounts of monsters” is just as fine elsewhere.
Moreover, since war plans are leveled per character, it can be a bit annoying, but it’s manageable. I’m only just starting on a second character, but I don’t think leveling the war plan talent trees again will annoy me too much. I really just need to finish one more before I go to bed…
More than the war plans, by the way, I am convinced by the Horadric Cube. I already knew that it would be quite powerful, but I never expected how powerful it really is until I forged my own God-roll from a white item. Such surprises also catch other players off guard: Players ask how everyone in Diablo 4 gets good gear so quickly – The secret is the Horadric Cube
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